Coffee and Curry
by mabelreid
Summary: Two shot takes place during CM season 13, episode Miasma. Reid bumps into McGee at his favorite coffee shop and the two men talk. Reid is invited to Tim's home for dinner, but not all goes to plan.
1. Chapter 1

**_Disclaimer: see my profile._**

 ** _A/n hello all. This will be a two chapter story with my two favorite guys, Reid and McGee. I like the idea of them as good friends. The time frame is about six months after Paraguay and a year after Reid's stint in prison._**

A discordant hum, not much different from a hive of restless honeybees arose from the auditorium when Dr. Spencer Reid brought his lecture to a close. "That's all for today," he said while shutting off the overhead projector. "Don't forget chapters 11-14 in your Abnormal Psychology textbooks."

Spencer shouted his last sentence over the noise of students talking, shutting books, and grabbing book bags filled with tablets, paper and other paraphernalia that made up the life of a modern-day student. Most of them ignored his assignment reminder, but some of the younger female students listened as they tried to make flirtatious contact with him. As always, he smiled politely and wished that he could make them stop trying to get his attention. Spencer wondered how many of them would read the chapters he'd assigned. He expected it from them because, after all, there were only three and for him, that was nothing, but he knew that his mind had given him a huge advantage in school.

He began to pack his messenger bag and tidy the room before he hurried out into the hallway that was fast emptying of students, and teachers. He looked at his watch as he approached the elevator and a tiny bit of relief filled his chest. It was Friday afternoon, and because he was on teaching rotation, he had the weekend off.

The bullpen was empty when Spencer walked through the glass door emblazoned with the emblem of the FBI and the BAU.

"They're called away on a case," said Agent Anderson, who never seemed to go home. "Sorry."

Spencer shrugged and went to his desk. "Thanks," he said absently to Anderson.

Reid unloaded his arms and his messenger bag of everything he didn't need to take home; then stood to stare at Luke's desk. He turned toward the upper level and the closed door of Emily's office. His eyes flicked toward Rossi's office; then he turned back to Tara and Matt's desks, finally allowing them to rest on JJ's tidy space.

"Looking around won't make them magically appear," he said, under his breath.

He briefly flirted with the idea of calling JJ or going to Garcia's office, but then he dismissed that thought and walked slowly back out the doors to the elevator.

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The wind followed Spencer into the coffee shop on Fifth Avenue. The cold breeze gave way to the alluring aroma of coffee, freshly baked muffins, chocolate, vanilla, orange and other spices that made this his favorite place after a lecture.

"Hi there, Spencer," greeted Eve the barista as he approached the counter with all its delicious offerings to tempt those who entered this temple of coffee worship.

"Hello, Eve."

"Usual?"

"Yes, please."

"How are you?"

"Good, glad it's the weekend."

Eve winked at him then laughed which made her curly brown hair swing in its ponytail under the baseball cap she wore as part of her uniform. The scarlet shirt worn with black slacks complimented her green eyes, which twinkled as she worked to prepare his coffee just the way he liked it, nothing fancy, but lots of sugar and a bit of cream.

"Here you go," she said as another man walked into the store. "Want a muffin today? We got your favorite fresh out of the oven."

"Spencer?"

Reid looked up and saw a familiar face, which he hadn't seen in months. "Timothy McGee?"

"Yep," said the NCIS agent. "It's me."

"Almost didn't recognize you with the beard."

The addition of a beard wasn't the only change Spencer noticed. His long-time friend wore his usual work outfit, coat, slacks, shirt and tie beneath a dark brown overcoat, with shoes and a brown, white and yellow patterned scarf. It wasn't what McGee wore; it was the expression in his eyes that Reid recognized. There was exhaustion, probably from the new twins, but there was something else in their depths that made Reid understand the toll taken on his friend after months in the hands of Paraguayan terrorists.

"Long story," Tim said as Reid made these silent observations.

"I heard about Paraguay."

"You want the muffin," asked Eve into the silence that followed Spencer's comment.

"What? Oh, yes, I'll have one."

"Me too," Tim said. "I'll take a double latte with caramel and chocolate."

Spencer's eyebrows went up. "Rough day?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Tim observed as Eve set out Spencer's coffee and a muffin. "Here, let me get that."

"No," Spencer argued. "My treat."

He pulled his wallet from his messenger bag and dropped a couple of bills on the counter before Tim could respond.

"Thanks, Spencer."

Reid nodded, and they took their coffee and muffins to a table near the back of the café. They sat and didn't talk for long minutes. Finally, Tim sighed and put down his coffee. "All right, Spencer I give up."

"Not sure what you mean," Spencer asked with a tiny smile after he took a sip of his wonderfully sweet coffee.

"Of course, you don't," Tim complained. "I keep forgetting I can't outthink you."

"Nonsense," Spencer disregarded Tim's assessment. "Remember that time at the Crystal City Station."

Tim flushed a little, then laughed and his tired face relaxed into calm lines. For a minute, he looked like the Tim McGee Spencer knew from before Paraguay. "Yes, I remember. I still say it was more luck than skill."

"I doubt it, but I'm still impressed by how you managed to talk our way out of there."

Tim shrugged. "Thanks, but I'm glad the train arrived when it did."

"So am I," Spencer agreed.

"Thank goodness Tony wasn't there," Tim said.

"I was just thinking the same about Morgan."

Tim shook his head and chuckled. "Can you imagine them with us?"

"They would've tried to encourage us to accept the offer, and then teased us until the end of time for saying no."

Tim almost choked on his coffee. "How did we manage to keep it a secret for so many years?"

Spencer shrugged. "I have no idea."

"I did tell Delilah."

"What did she say?" Spencer wondered, then almost laughed at the chagrin on Tim's face.

"She wondered why I waited so long to tell her, and that next time I'll know better than to get off at the wrong VRE station on a Friday night."

"In our defense, we were distracted by that last game of chess."

"The last game was _your_ idea," Tim reminded him. "I _wanted_ to take a nap."

Spencer drank the last of his coffee. "You're right," he admitted. "It was my fault."

"Still," Tim said after swallowing a bite of his muffin. "It took years, but when I think about that night, I laugh."

"Me too."

They smirked at each other than, lapsed into silence. Spencer looked out the window at the sun dying on the horizon. "I'm sorry I haven't called you, Spencer. I know it's been six months since the escape, but with the twins and –"

"You don't have to apologize," Spencer interrupted. "I understand more than you know."

"Yeah, I guess you do."

"Look, let's enjoy the fact that we ran into each other and had our snacks. We'll talk and then – I don't know what we'll do."

"I have an idea about that," Tim said.

"What?"

"You haven't met Morgan and Johnny yet. Come to my house for dinner this weekend. Delilah asks about you all the time. She misses you."

Spencer looked at his coffee cup and the remains of his muffin. "Alright. I'll come for dinner. "

"Good, Delilah will be thrilled. She's been perfecting her chicken curry recipe."

Spencer's eyebrows went into his hair. "I thought you hate curry."

"I don't _hate_ it," Tim argued. "It's not my favorite cuisine. However," he added before Spencer could speak. "I have developed a certain liking for Delilah's version."

Spencer grinned at him. "You sure, or do you tell her that to make her happy."

Tim rolled his eyes. "I refuse to answer that question because I may incriminate myself."

"I knew it."

"Hey, one of these days, you'll find someone you love more than your life, and you'll see what I mean."

"I don't think so," Spencer said softly.

"Hey, I didn't mean that the way it came out. I know that Maeve –"

Spencer held up a hand. "It's okay, Tim."

They sat through another long silence until Tim broke it with, "I'm only saying that Eve's cute and she's staring at you right now."

"She's twenty-one," Spencer squeaked.

"So? She's over eighteen. What's the problem? Wait," Tim stopped Spencer from speaking. "How do you know her age."

Spencer blew out a breath, and his face began to turn a rosy pink in the cheeks. "I made the mistake of bringing Garcia here, once and, well, you know her, Tim."

McGee smirked at him. "Let me guess; she decided to vet her because she saw how Eve flirts with you."

"Yes, and she doesn't flirt with me. I'm old enough to be her father."

Tim laughed out loud and made several other patrons turn and look at them.

"Keep it down, would you?" Spencer hissed at his friend.

"Sorry," Tim gradually brought his laughter under control. "You're not old enough to be her father, Spencer."

"I'll be thirty-eight on my next birthday."

"My point exactly. You and I are three years apart. We're not old men; we're middle-aged. Anyway, I'm older than you, Spencer, so quit complaining about your age."

Spencer finally smiled as his face cooled. "You're right, but I maintain that Eve is too young for me."

"If that's what you believe."

"Yes, it's what I believe." Spencer sighed. "The truth is that I want to meet someone, fall in love and have kids, like you, but I wonder at times if it will ever happen."

"I don't know if it will Spencer, but you have to be open to it."

"I know, but that doesn't mean I have to date women nearly twenty years my junior."

"All right," Tim held up a hand. "I'm sorry."

"I know. Thanks for your concern."

"I'm concerned because we're friends."

"Yes, we are. Look, I have to go, Tim. I have papers to grade." Spencer looked at his watch as he spoke.

"Yeah, me too."

"I'll see you this weekend."

"What if you have a case?"

"I'm on teaching rotation until next Monday."

"Good."

They shook hands, and Spencer watched Tim walk out into the night that fell over DC as the cloak of some mysterious stranger bent on ruling the denizens that populated the streets. He looked at his coffee cup, thought of getting a refill, and then he grabbed his bag and hurried out into the night.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Disclaimer: see my profile**_

Reid grinned despite himself when Tim opened the apartment door. His friend held a baby in his arms, a baby that wailed and squirmed restlessly in a way that Reid recognized from Henry's days as an infant. "Hi," Tim greeted as he swayed and dipped with the baby. The child didn't appear to appreciate Tim's efforts and continued to cry.

"Hi," Spencer stepped into the room and smirked as Tim shifted the baby to his left arm and shut the door.

"Sit down. Delilah's in the kitchen and I need to –"

At that moment another baby began to scream from another room. "Tim," shouted Delilah from the kitchen. "I'm up to my elbows in curry. You'll have to get Johnny."

"But-" Tim began then sighed. "I'll be back in a second."

"Let me take Morgan, and you take care of Johnny."

"Spencer, I don't –"

"Let me take Morgan," Spencer commanded, gently.

"All right, but she likes to be held –"

"I'll figure it out," Spencer said and took the crying baby.

Tim shrugged and hurried out of the room as Spencer looked down at the small girl in his arms. The baby continued to cry, her tiny, delicate face wrinkled and a bit red. A memory suddenly invaded Reid's thoughts as he began to pace and sway around the living room.

" _Will and I were talking, and we want you to be Henry's godfather."_

" _I don't even know. I don't know –"_

" _Do you want to hold him?" JJ said from her hospital bed._

" _Um…"_

" _Here, it's okay. Watch his head."_

 _JJ handed him little Henry, and he took the child because couldn't say no to her. His feelings for her which he thought he'd buried after Will came into her life surged in his chest and made it impossible to refuse to hold her newborn. Even though Henry belonged to Will, he was a port of JJ. Spencer knew she'd never love him the way he wanted, so Henry would have to be the focus of his love._

" _Hi! Hello, Henry," he said as these thoughts rushed through him._

" _If anything happens to us, it's up to you and Garcia to get him into Yale."_

" _Yale? Do you want to go to Yale, Henry? That was your godfather's safety school. Don't worry; I can get you into Cal-Tech with one phone call."_

Reid blinked and looked at Morgan, who didn't resemble Henry in the least, but she did stir up old feelings of longing to be a father, something he hadn't felt since before prison.

"Spencer?"

He looked up to see Delilah roll into the living room. She wore what looked like brand-new jeans with a colorful blouse, and blinding white tennis shoes. She smiled as he approached her and said. "It's good to see you, Spencer. I see you've met Morgan."

"It's great to see you, Delilah." He bent and kissed her cheek. "Yes, I met Morgan. I insisted on watching her while Tim takes care of Johnny."

"You didn't have to do that."

"I know, but holding Morgan reminds me of the first time I held Henry." Spencer laughed, ruefully. "I miss that, you know, holding him as a tiny infant. He was so beautiful and – sorry," he said and smiled.

"Its okay," Delilah said as she watched Reid cradle her daughter gently in his arms. "I think I understand."

"I know you do."

"So, how are you?"

Reid blew out a breath as Morgan, continued to fuss. "I think you better take her."

Delilah grinned at him and accepted the baby. "Hey there, my little angel. What's all the fuss?"

Spencer watched as she quieted Morgan with a minimum of effort. "You're so good with her."

"It's all practice. The first few days with two babies was chaos. It's still chaos, just a bit more controlled."

"Well, you and Tim are amazing with them.

"You'd make a great dad," Delilah said as she smiled down at Morgan.

"I don't think that'll happen."

Delilah frowned. "You never know, Spencer. I believe there's someone for everyone."

Spencer opened his mouth, but two things happened at the same time. Tim entered the room, and the doorbell rang.

"Who's that?"

"My date."

Tim stared at his wife. "What?"

Delilah winked at him and wheeled toward the door. Spencer's eyebrows lifted when Abby entered the room and greeted him with an enthusiastic embrace. "Spencer. It's so great to see you."

"You too," he said and true joy pulsed in his blood at seeing his old friend.

"Not to sound rude, but what are you doing here, Abby," Tim asked, bluntly.

Abby, dressed in a black lace skirt, with black petticoats, a blinding white blouse with lace and a shrug, and her usual dog collar smirked at him with blood red lips. "We're going to dinner and a movie, while you two spend some quality time together."

"I thought we were having dinner," Spencer pointed out to Delilah.

"We will," she said and looked at Abby. "I think you two need time alone. Come on."

Abby and Delilah left before Tim could speak or Reid could protest. The two men stared at each other for several seconds until Tim shrugged and sighed. "I'll be back in a sec." He hurried away with Morgan and a minute later, returned to the living room. "I guess this means we're on our own. The kids are down, for now, so I suggest we take this time to eat."

Reid agreed, and they went into the kitchen. Spencer stayed quiet until Tim pulled an incredibly fragrant smelling dish from the oven. He recognized the scent of curry and grinned. "Smells delicious."

"I'll fix you a plate, but I'm heating up some leftover pasta with Bolognese sauce that I made last night."

"You cook," Reid said in surprise.

"I had to learn when I was single."

"I never learned how to cook."

"I know," Tim said with a grin. "You live on takeout and omelets."

"I survive."

"You need someone to take care of you."

Spencer sat at the table with the plate Tim passed him and pretended he hadn't heard his friend, who'd removed a container from the fridge and put it in the microwave.

"So," Spencer began. "How's fatherhood treating you."

"I love it," Tim said, and light of sheer happiness radiated in his face. "I'm tired all the time, but when I come home after a long day, and the kids are here – well, I can't explain it."

"I'm glad for you."

Tim surveyed his friend, who wore a light blue shirt, open at the collar and rolled sleeves. His dark blue slacks matched his sneakers. As normal, Spencer's hair curled around his head in a disordered cap, and he wore about two days growth of beard. His eyes reminded Tim of the face he'd seen in the mirror every day since Paraguay. Tim pushed away his thoughts and said. "So, how's the BAU?"

Spencer swallowed a mouthful of his favorite dish and let his shoulders fall as he thought for a moment. "Not great right now."

"I heard about AD Barnes."

Spencer stared at him. "How do you know about that?"

"Fornell. He still has contacts in the FBI. He told Jack, who told me."

Reid sighed heavily and poked at his food, his appetite suddenly gone. He set aside his fork and pushed back his chair.

"I don't know what to do, Tim. She's trying to break up the team. What if she succeeds?"

Tim shook his head and began drumming his fingers on the table as if they wanted a keyboard for distraction. "Do you remember when my team was reassigned?"

"Yes, to find the mole."

"I thought I'd never see my team again."

"How did you deal with it?"

"As you know, they shut me up in a basement with a bunch of computer geeks."

Spencer smirked because he couldn't help it. "Your dream?"

Tim finally smiled, then chuckled. "Once, but sometimes too much of a good thing is tiresome. I missed Tony's teasing and his sparring with Ziva. I missed Gibbs's surliness and his gut. I wanted to spend time in Abby's lab listening to her music and talking about our favorite computer games and the latest in forensic analysis. I missed Ducky and Palmer. The point is that I had to go on with my life because I had no idea what the future held for us."

"You're saying that whatever happens, I can't control and to deal with it."

"Not in those words, but yes. You may be surprised," Tim went on as Reid began to think he might be able to eat again. "And, you don't know what will happen, Spencer. Maybe this AD Barnes won't find a reason to separate your team, and you're worried for nothing."

Spencer stared at his friend who'd gone back to his pasta, then rotated his neck slowly as some of the tension began to leave his shoulders. "I guess you're right."

They ate, silently, until Reid finished his curry, then he narrowed his eyes at Tim and said. "Now that we've addressed my worries, why don't we talk about yours."

As if on cue, a baby began to wail. "That's Morgan," Tim said as he got to his feet. "Be right back."

Reid took their plates to the sink, then went to the living room just as Tim entered with Morgan in his arms. "Hey, its okay little one," He said and rocked her gently. "Johnny sleeps all the time, and Morgan is a little ball of energy."

Spencer smiled and watched as Tim sat down on the sofa and continued to speak quietly to his daughter. "She's beautiful."

"Yeah, she's already got me wrapped around her little finger. Delilah finds it humorous and annoying depending on the day."

"I can imagine."

They lapsed into silence until Morgan quieted and fell back to sleep. Tim deposited her in one of the matching swings set up in the corner of the room. Reid watched Tim return to the sofa, sit and groan. "I'm beat."

Reid stayed quiet until Tim said. "All right, what do you want to know, Spencer."

"We haven't talked since Paraguay, and considering what happened, I thought that maybe…"

"You thought I want to talk about it.

"Yes."

"I saw a shrink, and she gave me a clean bill of health. I'm fine."

Spencer pushed his hands through his hair and then looked at his hands. "Tim," he said after a long moment of silence, broken on by the clicking of Morgan's swing and the faint sound of traffic outside the living room windows. "I'm sorry if I pushed. I consider you one of my closest friends, and I'm concerned for you."

McGee pushed to his feet and went to Morgan's swing. He looked down at the sleeping baby, then reached out a hand to touch her small face. He adjusted her blanket, and Spencer smiled as he watched his friend touch her with such gentleness and love in his eyes. Once again, envy dropped like a heavy weight on his shoulders. He clamped down and tried to force the emotion into the back of his mind.

"It's all right," Tim said quietly. "You're right. I've spent the last six months trying to distract my thoughts by working, spending time with friends, and attempting to be a perfect father."

"What does Delilah say about your attempts?"

"She decided to leave us alone for the evening."

Reid laughed. "Yeah, I suppose she did. Good thing we ran into each other."

"I'm glad we did. I've wanted to talk to you, but – well, you know what I mean."

Spencer nodded. "I guess this is what I get for pushing you."

McGee finally smiled in a way that touched his eyes. "Yes, I'm concerned for you, too, Spencer. You've never talked about prison."

"I'll tell you all about it if you tell me."

"Agreed."

Three hours later, Delilah unlocked the door to the apartment and found Spencer, with Morgan in his arms, and Tim asleep on the sofa. Abby followed her inside.

"So, how's babysitting –"

"Shh," Delilah put her finger to her lips. "You okay," she whispered to Spencer.

"Yeah," he smiled and gently bounced Morgan as she cooed at him. "Tim and I were talking, and then Morgan and Johnny woke at the same time. We had quite a job calming them. He fell asleep about half an hour ago."

"Sorry about that," Delilah said as rolled toward her husband.

"It's okay. You've got two beautiful children. I love taking care of them."

"Thank you."

Tim jerked, then opened his eyes. He blinked, stretched and looked at Delilah. "Hey, when did you get back?"

"Just now."

"Sorry I fell asleep, Spencer."

"It's okay. I think we're both ready for some downtime."

"How did your evening go?" Tim asked Delilah.

"It was pretty amazing, but the next time you invite Spencer to dinner, I won't run out on you."

Spencer glanced at Tim, who smirked at him and said. "I'll hold you to it."

"Hey, stop hogging Morgan," Abby interrupted. "I need time with my favorite girl."

Spencer gave her the baby, and she began to coo over the tiny girl. He and Tim looked at each other and grinned. "She loves you," Delilah said.

"Of course," Abby responded. "What's not to love?"

"I think it's time for me to go," Spencer observed when Tim yawned wide enough to crack a jaw.

"I'll walk out with you."

"Thanks," Tim said and clapped Spencer on the shoulder.

"Same to you," they shook hands, and Spencer reached for his coat. "Come on," he said to Abby. "Let's go."

"Sounds good."

Tim turned to speak to Delilah after Spencer and Abby left, but she wasn't behind him. "Delilah," he called.

"In here," she hollered back.

He found her at the babies' crib. Spencer had suggested that the babies should sleep in the same bed for the first months because they were used to close quarters in the womb. It worked well as they seemed to take comfort from each other.

"Hey," he put a hand on her shoulder as she watched them sleep.

"Tired."

"A bit. Thanks for leaving me here with Spencer."

"Don't know what you're talking about."

"Still, thank you."

Delilah wheeled around and faced him. "If it helped, then you're welcome."

"It did. You always know what I need."

"Of course, I love you, Tim."

"And I love you," he said and bent to kiss her.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and sighed into his mouth. "Think they'll sleep for a while."

Tim lifted her from the chair with ease. "I think so."

"Hm… You sure you're not too exhausted."

"I'm never too tired to spend time with you, Dee."

Tim carried her into their bedroom, closing the door with his foot while the twins slept the deep sleep of innocence surrounded by the love of their family.

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"So," Abby probed as they waited for the train. "How was babysitting with Tim?"

"It was fun. I love kids."

"Me too."

"When did you decide to take Delilah out to dinner, before or after she told you I was coming to see them?"

Abby eyed him, then sighed. "Why do I try to fool you?"

Spencer shrugged. "You should know better."

"Delilah and I were worried about you and Timmy."

Spencer put his hands in his pockets and blew out a breath. "I'm sorry I haven't called you for a while. This thing with AD Barnes and the anniversary of Mexico has me churned up inside."

"You know you can call me anytime."

"I do know."

They were quiet for a long time; then the loudspeaker announced that their train was three minutes away. Reid watched as other commuters gathered up their belongings and began to move toward the edge of the platform.

"Spencer," Abby said.

"Yeah."

"We've been friends for a long time, right?"

"Yes."

"There's something I've always wanted to do."

Spencer flinched in surprise when Abby leaned in and kissed him full on the lips. "Abby?"

"I like you, Dr. Spencer Reid, and not just as a friend. Let's go out on a date and see what happens."

"Honestly, I thought you'd never ask."

Abby giggled and took his arm while the train approached with clashing steel on steel and the scream of brakes.

"Good," she said. "Pick me up on Friday at eight."

"What should I wear," he joked as they entered the train.

Abby looked him up and down. "Whatever you want, sexy."

 _ **THE END**_


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